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ID: HR19-667

Presenting author: Louisa Gilbert

Presenting author biography:

Louisa Gilbert, PhD, is an Associate Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work and has served as the Co-Director of the Social Intervention Group since 1999 and the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia since 2007.

Learning from implementing WINGS a brief GBV intervention in harm reduction programs in four countries: Building a global advocacy and practice platform to address GBV against women who use drugs

Louisa Gilbert, Ruth Birgin, Vielta Parhomenko, Pemu Bhutia

This workshop will engage participants in identifying types of gender-based violence(GBV) that women who use drugs (WUD) experience and identify gaps in GBV surveillance and services for WUD as a human rights violation and serious public health concern. Participants will learn how WINGS - a brief GBV intervention and advocacy tool - may be implemented to respond to this gap in GBV services and surveillance. WINGS was developed as a GBV screening, brief intervention and referral tool for harm reduction NGOs and has shown to be effective in reducing different types of GBV among WUD and linking WUD to GBV and HIV harm reduction services. It has now been implemented with over 1,000 WUD in NGOs in 5 countries. This workshop will feature case studies that highlight challenges and lessons learned from implementing WINGS in Kyrgyzstan, India, Ukraine and Georgia, identifying common multi-level factors that may impede or facilitate the feasibility and sustainability of delivering WINGS in NGOs. Participants will learn from these country examples how informal GBV surveillance data can be collected through the WINGS tool to advance advocacy efforts and improve GBV services and police response to GBV among WUD. Moving forward, this workshop will invite input from participants to discuss a vision and strategies for collaboration with WHRIN (Women’s Harm Reduction International Network) as a global platform to bring greater attention to GBV, promoting meaningful involvement of WUD and working to improve the availability of harm reduction GBV services for WUD.

Format: This workshop will include a panel discussion and interactive exercises in small groups that will be focused on how participants may use WINGS to address GBV in their communities. Participants will be asked to generate strategies how they may collaborate with WHRIN to build a global advocacy and practice platform to address GBV among WUD.